Arkansas health department: New tick-borne illness arrivesLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas health officials are warning residents to avoid tick bites after confirming that a case of the Heartland virus has been confirmed in the state's northwest. The patient was infected by a Lone Star tick but has since recovered. The virus causes flu-like symptoms and generally requires a hospital stay. There is no vaccine or drug available to address the illness. Health officials say more than 20 cases have been reported in...

No charges expected after Arkansas boy, 7, shot accidentallyEL DORADO — El Dorado police say no charges are anticipated after the accidental shooting of a 7-year-old boy last month. Police have refused to identify the victim or the alleged shooter, citing their desire to give a family privacy "during a difficult time." Officers said the shooter was a minor, too. The boy died June 25 after being shot with a small-caliber handgun. Family members say they were unaware that the gun was in the house, and th...

Special counsel named for cases involving Arkansas judgeLITTLE ROCK — Attorneys from Mississippi and Arkansas have been named by a judicial ethics panel as special counsel to handle cases related to a judge who participated in an anti-death penalty demonstration after he blocked the state from using an execution drug. The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission announced Friday that Rachel Michel and J. Brent Standridge had been named to handle the complaints related to Pulaski Count...

Arkansas governor announces task force to combat violenceLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday announced the creation of a multiagency partnership to combat violence in Little Rock, just days after a nightclub shooting left 28 people injured. The task force will consist of agents and officers from agencies including the Little Rock Police Department, FBI and Arkansas State Police. "We have experienced an escalating level of violence in Little Rock in recent years," Hutchinson said d...

Studio gives $25K toward replacing Ten Commandments displayLITTLE ROCK— A Christian-themed movie studio has donated $25,000 toward replacing a Ten Commandments monument outside the Arkansas Capitol that was destroyed last month. PureFlix Entertainment donated the funds Thursday toward the monument, which was destroyed by a man who smashed his vehicle into the granite display less than 24 hours after it was installed on the Capitol's grounds. PureFlix is the production studio for the movie "God's Not D...

Arkansas university won't sell alcohol despite approvalFAYETTEVILLE— The University of Arkansas doesn't plan to sell alcohol at intercollegiate sporting events despite new state-issued alcohol permits that allow the sales. Large-attendance facility permits were approved last month for concessionaire Levy Premium Foodservice LP, a new concession vendor for the university. The rules took effect Saturday, but the university said it has no current plans to sell alcohol at three of its four arenas, the...

Arkansas ends fiscal year with $15M surplusLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas finance officials say the state ended its fiscal year with a $15.7 million surplus after a boost in sales tax collections over the past two months helped restore most of the budget cuts enacted earlier. The Department of Finance and Administration said Wednesday the state ended the fiscal year with $5.3 billion in net available revenue, which was $19 million below the previous fiscal year. Arkansas' fiscal year ended Fri...

3 more Arkansas counties eligible for disaster aidLITTLE ROCK — Officials say three more Arkansas counties have been added to the list of counties that are eligible for disaster unemployment assistance because of severe weather earlier this year. The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services says Prairie, White and Woodruff are now authorized for assistance as a result of the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that hit the state in late April and May. A federal disaster declaration was pre...

Arkansas lawmakers delay vote on temporary herbicide banLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers are delaying a vote on a temporary ban of a herbicide that's been the focus of hundreds of complaints from farmers who say it's causing widespread damage. The Arkansas Legislative Council's executive subcommittee on Wednesday delayed voting on the temporary ban of the sale and use of dicamba that's been approved by the state Plant Board. The legislative panel says it would take up the ban on Friday after it goe...

2 Arkansas veterans advance Gulf War memorial plans in DCLITTLE ROCK — Two Arkansas Gulf War veterans are leading a campaign to build a Desert Storm War Memorial in Washington, D.C. Jeff Kurczek and Brenten Byrd serve on the board for the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2sFAebL ) reported. "It's time to get the word out and get it done," Kurczek said. U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, has helped the veterans and supported the campaign by...

Arkansas to release some information to voting commissionLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas won't release all of the information sought by a commission formed by President Donald Trump to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the 2016 election, officials said Wednesday, as the state's Republican governor called the panel's request for data too broad. Secretary of State Mark Martin's office said it had received the panel's request and has only released publicly available information about the state's voters....

Corps issues small craft advisory for Arkansas RiverLITTLE ROCK- The Army Corps of Engineers recently issued a small craft advisory for the Arkansas River downstream of Dardanelle Lock and Dam. Recent rains in Arkansas have caused flows to rise. During high flows, strong currents and large debris can threaten the safety of pleasure craft. Small craft advisories are issued when flows exceed 70,000 cubic feet per second. Flows at Dardanelle Lock and Dam at Russellville today are 67,000 c.f.s. ...

Inmate who walked away from work site caught in TexarkanaTEXARKANA— Authorities have apprehended an inmate who walked away from his work site in Texarkana on Monday. Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesman Solomon Graves says inmate Joshua Bean walked away from his assigned work-release job site at M&M Milling in Texarkana. Graves says Bean was captured Tuesday at about 11 a.m. in Texarkana. Graves says Bean had been serving a 15-year prison sentence out of Garland County for residential burgla...

Spin-up tornado damages apartments, downs trees in JonesboroJONESBORO— No one was injured when a short-lived tornado swept through Jonesboro, damaging an apartment complex and downing trees and power lines in the northeast Arkansas city. The National Weather Service in Memphis, Tennessee, said the Monday morning storm had winds of up to 105 mph (168 kph). More severe weather moved through central and northern Arkansas on Tuesday afternoon as well, with electricity knocked out to thousands of people. Th...

Federal appeals panel upholds ex-judge's bribery convictionLITTLE ROCK— A federal appeals court panel has upheld the bribery conviction and 10-year prison sentence for a former Arkansas judge who admitted to reducing a jury award against a nursing home operator in exchange for campaign contributions. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld the conviction Monday of former circuit judge Michael Maggio, who accepted thousands in campaign donations from the nursing home operator before reducing...

Arkansas schools to have high-speed internet this fallLITTLE ROCK— A years long project to implement high-speed internet at every Arkansas school is expected to be completed before summer break ends. Arkansas will be one of a handful of states that guarantees the service everywhere, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2t9laBq ) reported. The state is running fiber-optic cables from the Ozarks to the Delta to serve all of its nearly 477,300 students. The accomplishment is the result of an...

Little Rock club performer faces weapons chargeLITTLE ROCK — A rapper shot someone in the neck days before performing at a concert in Little Rock that was the site of a shooting that left 28 people injured, federal prosecutors said Monday. U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Paulette Chappelle said Ricky Hampton, also known as Finese2Tymes, screamed at a person he believed was blocking his way on June 25 as Hampton was trying to leave Club Envy in Forrest City, Arkansas. Chappelle said the ...

Police: Club shooting that injured 28 may be gang-relatedLITTLE ROCK— Clubgoers screamed and scrambled for cover as dozens of gunshots rang out during a rap concert in downtown Little Rock early Saturday, leaving 28 people injured from an 11-second melee that police said may be gang-related. The volley of gunfire inside the Power Ultra Lounge came so fast that investigators believe multiple people had to have been involved. Police Chief Kenton Buckner credited quick work by first responders for ther...

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By ANDREW DeMILLO and TAFI MUKUNYADZI, Associated PressAssociated Press

Arkansas reinstates $60M that was cut from state's budgetLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas officials announced Friday they're reinstating $60 million that was cut from the state's budget earlier this year, crediting a rebound in sales tax revenues over the past couple months for boosting the state's finances. The Department of Finance and Administration announced it would revise its forecast for the fiscal year, which ended Friday, and said Arkansas would end the year with $5.3 billion in net available revenue...

Negligent homicide charges filed in Arkansas kids' deathsLITTLE ROCK — Negligent homicide charges have been filed against a 30-year-old man in the deaths of two young children who drowned after the truck they were in rolled into a pond. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/2txGpOg ) charges were filed against Jonathan Daniel Welborn in the deaths of 2-year-old Sofia Welborn and 6-month-old Zane Welborn. Welborn and 26-year-old Brittany Nichole Hairston also face counts of first-degre...